"The Cats Of Stony River" by Joyce G. Reilly

[CatPat]

The little party broke up late in the afternoon. Paul dropped Joyce, Pook, and Saav off at their cottage, and continued home with Zeus yelling at him about his driving, as usual.

“Gaaaahhhhh you are going to kill us!” yelled Zeus. “Watch that truck!”

“I see the truck. Would you please shut up?” Paul snapped.

“Can’t you hire a driver? You are going to wrap us around a tree one of these days!”

“No I’m not. Keep this up and I’ll stuff you in the glovebox,” snarled Paul.

“Yeah, you and whose army?” sneered Zeus.

“You’re driving me nuts!”

“Your driving is driving me nuts!” the cat retorted.

“You’re driving yourself nuts,” said Paul. “Seems to me you need some kitty tranquilizers when you get in a car.”

“Oh no I don’t. Why can’t you just hire someone who knows how to drive before you kill somebody?”

“Will you get off that? I’m a good driver. You’re just a nervous passenger.”

Zeus snorted at Paul. “I’m only nervous because you’re the worst driver in the world. Geez! Get out of the ditch over here!”

“I’m not in the ditch!” yelled Paul.

“Gaaaahhhhh! Stay in your own lane!”

“Zeus, if you don’t shut up…”

“Aw, what are you gonna do? Yell at me? Oooo, scary. Hey! Watch the guardrail!” the cat howled.

“Oh God, why me?” sighed Paul.

“Oh please. Spare me. Can’t you slow down?”

Paul sighed loudly. “How come you didn’t yell at me in front of Joyce?”

“I’m not yelling. I didn’t want to scare her or Pook and Saav by pointing out your complete lack of driving skills,” Zeus replied.

“Oh, how thoughtful of you. Let’s pretend they are still here, then, and let me have some peace and quiet.”

“You don’t need peace and quiet. You need to hire a driver,” Zeus snapped.

“If I hear that one more time – “

“You missed the driveway again,” snickered the cat.

 

[CatPat]

“******!” Paul swore, and turned the SUV around in a neighbor’s driveway. He turned up his own drive and glared at Zeus. “If you’d shut up now and then, I wouldn’t miss the driveway!”

“Bull. If I did shut up, we’d be seeing the inside of an ambulance instead of the driveway. Watch the rock!”

Exasperated, Paul drove into the garage and parked. “Thank God that’s over!”

“No kidding. Get me out of here before you decide to go anywhere again today,” said Zeus.

“I swear I liked you better before you talked!”

“No you didn’t. Hey, there’s a special on TV tonight about pandas. Can we watch that?” Zeus asked as Paul opened the door for him and picked up the computer bag.

“Pandas? Sure. I picked the movie last night, anyway, so tonight’s your turn. I didn’t know you were into pandas,” said Paul as they headed into the kitchen.

“Well, actually, I’m not, but Belle wants to see it, and then she’ll want to talk about it later. We usually watch the same thing so we have something to discuss with her.”

“Oh,” Paul nodded. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Yaaaggghhh,” groaned Zeus. “I ate too much at Ralph’s. I don’t want to get near food for a while.”

Paul peeked into the refrigerator. “Okay, I’ll just heat up the spaghetti from yesterday. Let me know when you get hungry.”

“Thanks, I will. Can you get this out for me, please?” Zeus asked, nosing at his computer case.

“Sure. Where do you want it?”

“Where are you going to be?”

“In here for a little while, then I’ve got some ideas to work on for the book,” Paul replied. He was writing a sequel to his first book about the little town, and usually worked at the computer in his home office.

“Paul, you need a laptop,” Zeus told him.

“What for? I have the big desktop computer in the office.”

“You can only work at it in the office, though. If you had a laptop, we could sit together in the family room, or the living room, or the library, or outside on the porches and patios when the weather’s nice,” he pointed out.

Paul looked at his cat thoughtfully. “Okay. Gimme that back,” he teased Zeus.

Zeus laughed, fluffed up, and swatted clawlessly at Paul. That did it. Paul reached for Zeus, and the cat took off for the living room with Paul on his heels. Their

 

[CatPat]

combination game of hide-and-seek/tag/chase had begun, and the two ran around the huge log home for about fifteen minutes until Zeus (as usual) allowed himself to be “trapped” and “caught” by Paul. Paul scooped his cat up, and carried him back downstairs to the kitchen, plopping him on the table.

Zeus looked at him, smiling. “That was fun. In your next life, you need to be a cat. You’d be a good one.”

“Thank you, buddy,” Paul smiled back, stirring the spaghetti sauce and checking the noodles. “You’d make a great human, too.”

“Well, if I come back as a human, maybe I’ll have you for my cat, and spoil you like you spoil me.”

“Oh, now, you’re onto something there. I think I could definitely get used to that.”

Zeus pawed his computer on, and Paul slid the wireless card into the side of it for him. The cat watched.

“I wish cats had thumbs,” he said, looking at Paul’s hands. “Those sure are useful things.”

“I wish you did too. But it might be a little hard to walk, don’t you think?”

“Hmm. That’s a possibility,” nodded Zeus. He looked at the stove. “That sauce is starting to smell good.”

“Want some?” Paul asked. “After that little romp, you might have worked up an appetite. I know I did.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Just a few minutes,” said Paul, filling up the watering can. “I’m going to go water the plants. Does your upstairs water fountain need filling yet?”

Zeus had his own room upstairs, originally a storage room with a dormer window tucked under the eaves right next to the master bedroom. Paul had put in soft, thick carpet, a cat playhouse, a coffeetable for the cat’s computer with storage underneath, shelves for his books, a big dog bed, and a recirculating water fountain. A CD player and speakers were installed, and in one corner was a 21-inch TV. The cat loved his room, as Paul let the cat pick out everything he wanted for it. It was done in shades of beige and teal, and the furnishings were simple with clean lines, unlike the rustic look of the rest of the house. He used it when Paul went to bed, and he whiled away the nighttime teaching Belle, taking his own classes, and listening to classical and jazz music.

“Not yet,” Zeus said. “I checked it this morning.”

“Okay. Be right back,” smiled Paul.

 

[CatPat]

Zeus watched as Paul went out, and sighed happily. His life couldn’t be better, and he knew it.

Bart and Belle had a huge windowseat and a big section of Carrie’s computer room all to themselves in her spacious apartment over the shop and Ralph’s restaurant, Lowery’s Porch. Meows, in the little cottage behind Sunshine Inn, had his own nightstand and bookshelf in Suzanna’s bedroom, and a small carpeted perch under the bedroom window where he could easily see Carrie’s shop. TigTig and Loki, too, had their own area as well at Justin’s home.

Pook and Saav didn’t have their own space, and Joyce suddenly realized this when Paul dropped them off and she walked into her living room. Pook’s rock and crystal collection, Saav’s little stuffed animal collection, their books and afghans were pretty much scattered about the tiny cottage wherever they landed, which was usually on the coffeetable in the living room. It looked a bit messy and crowded.

Joyce’s cottage was very quaint, having been built in 1921, with a fireplace in each room. She had a miniscule study, a small bedroom, eat-in kitchen, living room, and one bathroom all stuffed into around 1000 square feet, which didn’t leave a lot of room for much more. It had a nice porch in the front and a back patio, and an attached single-car garage that had been added on about twenty years ago. As she walked through, looking around, Pook and Saav followed her.

“What’s up, Mom?” asked Saav.

“What are you looking for?” Pook asked.

“Well, all the other cats have their own spaces in their homes,” Joyce told them. “I’m trying to see where I can give you the same thing.”

“What for?” frowned Saav.

“Sounds like a lot of keeping up with the Joneses to me,” Pook said.

“No, my living room is a mess. You need a place to at least put your things where you can also get to them easily when you need them.”

“We can cram our stuff under the bed or the couch if you need us to,” Pook suggested.

“You don’t want to do that. Whatever we do, it needs to be close to the floor, not really on it,” Joyce replied.

“I like Carrie’s big windowseat where Bart and Belle store their things in the space under it,” said Saav.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thank you for my bedtime story!

 

[CatPat]

“Yeah. Whack out the window in your study and stick one of those in there. You got room, if you scoot the desk over a little,” Pook suggested as they stood in the doorway of the tiny room.

“Hmm. You might have something there, Pooks, and I can put in some more shelves by the fireplace. I know you like their cat playhouse too, but I don’t know where I’d put one.”

“We don’t need one,” said Saav.

“If you scooted the piano down a little more toward the living room closet door, there would be enough room for a tall one on the other side toward the kitchen doorway,” said Pook. “It doesn’t have to be in here, does it?”

Joyce thought about that. “Not really, no.”

“Just use what space you have wherever it is,” Saav suggested.

The human nodded. “Maybe we’ll do that in the spring when it gets warmer. This isn’t a good time of year to be whacking out exterior walls.”

“Brrrr, not a good idea,” agreed Pook with a shiver.

“But I can move the piano and get the cat playhouse in now,” said Joyce.

“A box for storage would work for us for now,” said Saav.

“What kind of box?” asked Joyce.

“One of those you see at the foot of beds. You have room for one in here,” Saav pointed out, peering into Joyce’s bedroom.

“You mean like a blanket box or a trunk?”

“Yeah, that would work,” nodded Pook. “Steamer trunks are cool and we could keep our stuff in one of those.”

Joyce looked at her cats. “How did you know about blanket boxes and steamer trunks?”

“When Carrie was building her apartment over the shop, we helped Bart and Belle look up decorating and storage ideas,” Saav replied.

Carrie had a brass-trimmed storage trunk at the foot of her big brass bed that Joyce thought was a nice touch.

“So, that’s where the idea for her room came from,” smiled Joyce. “You guys are pretty smart, you know that?”

“We like to think we are,” said Saav.

“I can squeeze a trunk in here,” agreed Joyce. “Actually I probably need a bigger house.”

 

[CatPat]

“No you don’t. Just use what space you have real efficiently. You could even get a consultant in here to look around,” Saav said.

“Interior designer,” Pook put in.

“Oh dear, those folks are sort of pricey.”

“Are they? Then just go online to home improvement sites and look at home decorating magazines and books,” Pook said. “That’s where we found a lot of ideas for Carrie she used.”

“I can do that,” Joyce said.

They went back down the hall into the small living room with its coffeetable littered with rocks, crystals, books, discs, and stuffed toys. Pook looked at it.

“Yeah, that’s messy,” she said.

“Not a lot of room for your stuff there, Mom,” agreed Saav.

“Well, I have places to put things, like the shelves and all, but you can’t reach those without climbing, and that’s not going to work,” Joyce told them.

Saav looked up at the shelves against the wall. “No, I don’t think so either.”

“As soon as this snow goes away and I can get out, I’ll get the playhouse and a trunk or something,” Joyce told them.

“That will be nice,” purred Pook.

“Maybe you should get a four-wheel-drive car too,” said Saav.

“You’re kidding, right? Last time I went car shopping, you two griped and complained so much about everything I found I gave up.”

“Well, try looking around again,” said Pook. “It needs a place for Saav in the back window and a roomy back seat.”

“That’s the problem we had before. We couldn’t find something that had room in the back window deck in four-wheel-drive. It has to be a car for that, and in snow like this, I need more ground clearance. Cars are too low,” Joyce explained.

“Well, if Pook would share the front seat, that would be okay with me,” Saav said.

“You like the back deck because you snarl and bare your fangs at tailgaters,” Pook argued.

“Yeah, but I can do that from the back seat, I guess. I like the front too.”

“I can share,” said Pook.

Joyce thought about that. “What if we kept the car and got a second-hand four-wheel drive, maybe an older one in good shape, just for bad roads and weather like this?”

“We’d have two cars?” Pook asked.

 

[CatPat]

“Why not? Paul does. And Mom’s doing more stuff on her own rather than going to the office all the time,” Saav pointed out.

“Well, that’s true. If one broke down, she’d still have another car to use,” agreed Pook.

“Remember last fall when the Chevy’s engine blew up and you had to rent a car?”

“Oh, yeah, that was no fun. Plus it was expensive,” Joyce frowned. “Well, we can keep the Chevy if I can find something I can afford.”

“We really do like the Chevy, Mom,” smiled Saav.

Joyce nodded. “Okay, let me get this straight. We’re going to re-do the house and get a four-wheel-drive, right?”

“Right,” said the cats.

“Anything else?”

“No,” laughed Pook.

“We’ll let you know if anything else needs to be changed,” Saav giggled.

“Wonderful. You do that,” Joyce smiled at them, going to the kitchen.

“What’s for dinner?” asked Pook.

“Hmm. I’m not terribly hungry tonight, so I was thinking a baked potato and tuna salad.”

“Tuna sounds good,” said Saav.

“You can keep the salad part,” Pook suggested.

“I can do without the potato too,” Saav added. “Unless you feel like sharing the bacon bits. I like those.”

Joyce preheated the oven for her potato, and got the tuna out of the refrigerator for the cats before she made her salad.

“Oh,” said Saav, looking up from her tuna. “There’s a special on pandas we want to watch tonight, is that okay?”

“Sure,” nodded Joyce. “What, you want a pet panda now?”

Pook smiled. “No, Belle is going to watch it and pepper us with questions about it later on, so we need to see it too.”

“Boy, she is really something,” said Joyce, shredding lettuce.

“She is,” agreed Saav. “But she’s a smart something.”

A few blocks away, Suzanna waded through the snow from her backyard cottage to the big 10-bedroom bed and breakfast to check on the guests and staff. In the early winter evening, the fires were lit in the parlors, library, dining room and foyer, and the guests gathered in front of them with coffee and hot chocolate, playing board games or visiting.

 

[CatPat]

The atmosphere at Sunshine Inn was leisurely, going back to a place in time where no one was in a hurry and everyone had time for a chat or a friendly game of checkers.

Many guests had told Suzanna that part of the reason they kept coming back to stay at the inn was because it was relaxing in itself. She checked on the staff, and everything seemed to be quiet, friendly, homey, and normal. Sunshine, the inn kitty, was curled up by his assigned guest in the library, and it looked like the woman he was with was giving an older fellow a beating at checkers.

“Looks like Sunshine got a winner tonight,” smiled Suzanna, petting the beautiful cream-and-chocolate Persian mix. He purred and yawned.

The woman smiled. “He’s so sweet. Actually, no, this man here has whipped me four times in a row, and I’m finally getting even.”

The man snorted. “No, you’re getting lucky. I’ll get you and your little cat next time.” Pretending to be grumpy, the man was smiling with his eyes twinkling at his worthy opponent.

Another couple by the fire looked over and laughed. “They’ve been at it for a while there. Quite entertaining, Ms. Pearson. No wonder the televisions are only in the guest rooms,” said the lady.

“I haven’t even turned mine on,” said the man playing checkers.

“I don’t think I even noticed I had one,” smiled his game partner, taking his last king. “You lose, Checkers King. Pay up.”

“Damn,” he griped, and reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a handful of play money. He tossed a fake $20 bill across the board.

She scooped it up, reached into her denim skirt pocket and pulled out her own handful of play money, adding the $20 to it. He set the board up for them again while the other couple settled back to watch.

Suzanna hadn’t seen this before. “Play money? That’s a novel idea.”

The players looked up. “Yes,” said the winning lady. “Your girl at the desk has been handing it out today and we’ve all got it. We thought it was a great idea too.”

“Oh, she did?” laughed Suzanna. “That’s pretty good. I hadn’t thought of that.”

This was yet another reason she loved her staff. They were always coming up with ideas for the inn and tried very hard to make the guests comfortable and satisfied with their stay.

“I like the candy bowls in the rooms,” said the man watching the players.

“You’ve just about emptied that,” laughed his wife.

 

[CatPat]

“We’ll make sure we refill it,” promised Suzanna. “I hope you folks are enjoying your stay. Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Tell her to stop cheating,” said Checkers King.

“I’m not cheating,” protested his partner.

Suzanna smiled at the friendly fussing. “No cheating at Sunshine Inn, now, both of you.”

“We’ll keep an eye on them,” said the spectating lady.

Suzanna liked to see her guests enjoying each other and socializing. She chatted with them for a bit, petted Sunshine again, and made her way to the front desk in the foyer. There was a shoebox full of play money by the bell, with a sign on it that read “For the Board Games. Gamblers Only.”

“Good idea, Carole,” said Suzanna. The teenager looked up at her from her paperwork.

“Hi, Suzanna. They’ve had a lot of fun with that today,” she said. Carole Furman worked the evening shift on weekends, attending high school during the week.

“Was this your idea?”

“Yes, I saw this at the dollar store the other day and thought it might be fun. Hope I don’t get anyone addicted to gambling.”

“I doubt that. We serve coffee, and I haven’t been sued yet by anyone suffering from caffeine addiction. I think it’s safe. Everyone looks like they’re happy. The rooms ready for the night?” asked Suzanna.

Carole checked the papers in front of her. “Yes. They were all cleaned by the day shift, and we’ve put in extra towels, refilled candy bowls, checked on Sunshine’s food, water, and box, and everything’s done downstairs too. I just got through vacuuming in here, and everyone else is cleaning the kitchen and setting out the evening snacks. Tonight’s tea is decaf Earl Grey, and there’s those tiny poppy seed muffins and finger sandwiches out in the dining room,” said Carole.

“Good,” smiled Suzanna. “I guess everything’s under control here. I’ll be at home if you need me for anything.”

“Okay. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

Suzanna made her way across the yard in the still, cold winter air, looking at the cozy cottage and thinking just how peaceful the town looked in the snow when all of a sudden an enormous explosion very close by made her turn quickly. She lost her balance and fell, causing her to strike her head on a large rock. A huge fireball lit up the night sky and debris started to fall around her as she lay unconscious in the snow.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

oh no! Suzanna!

 

[CatPat]

Chapter Two - Fire

Carrie sat with Bart and Belle, helping Belle with her Canadian provinces when the explosion rocked her building. Racing to the big window in her bedroom, she saw the fireball rising high into the sky in the general direction of Sunshine Inn. Bart and Belle ran with her, jumping up to see what was happening.

“Oh no! A fire!” cried Belle, frightened. Bart stared.

“Suzanna,” breathed Carrie. She left the window and ran down the hall, grabbing her coat and scarf off the coat tree. “You two stay here until I know what’s happening.”

With that, Carrie took off from the apartment, running as fast as she could down the street as her two worried, scared cats watched.

A couple blocks away in Joyce’s tiny cottage, she and the cats were just settling down to do a little reading before the TV special when the explosion shook the house and cracked the bay window behind them on the couch. Joyce dropped her book and whirled around in time to see the fireball rip into the night sky. Pook and Saav flew under the couch, and Joyce heard Ruffie yelp in alarm from the kitchen.

“Oh my God,” said Joyce. She jumped off the couch and snatched up her coat
.
“Girls, stay where you are but make sure Ruffie’s okay.” She tore out the door and ran toward the fire, hoping it wasn’t where she thought it looked like it might be.

Even a mile away, Justin, TigTig, and Loki heard the explosion and Justin looked out his kitchen window and saw the fireball.

“Oh, damn,” he muttered to the cats, who had jumped up to see what was happening.

“That’s not Carrie’s place, is it?” asked TigTig, a little panicky.

“I can’t tell from here. But it looks close to there or the B&B,” he said, shaken. He went for his coat and jammed his hat on. “I’m going to go see what’s happening. Stay here.”
Grabbing his cell phone and car keys, he ran out the front door, calling 911 on the way. He jumped into the SUV and drove as fast as he dared in the snow toward the fire.

Carrie was the first to get to the B&B and although it was intact and the staff and guests were pouring out, she nearly tripped over Suzanna, lying in the yard. Meows was sitting next to her, licking Suzanna’s cheek.

 

[CatPat]

“She’s alive, I think she hit her head,” said the cat, shaking with fear and cold.

Carrie flipped her cell phone open and started to call 911, but then heard the sirens coming fast and furious, and she knew help was already on the way.

“What happened? What blew up?” she asked Meows. She couldn’t see past the big B&B.

“I don’t know,” said Meows, and he ran across the yard to the driveway. Peering past the B&B, he watched for a moment, then ran around the front of the inn. Returning around the other side, he dashed back to Carrie and Suzanna. “That abandoned old warehouse across the street and the ice cream place on the corner.”

“Do you smell gas?” asked Carrie.

Meows shook his head. “No. The wind’s blowing the other way. But two windows in the front of the B&B are blown out. I can’t tell how many others might be broken, but the building itself is okay, I think. Right now. But look at the embers falling.”

“Oh no. Okay, well, the staff knows the evacuation plan and they’re trained. See if you see an ambulance.”

“Fire trucks so far,” said Meows just as the first two engines arrived.

Carrie yanked her coat off and covered Suzanna with it, tucking it around her carefully without moving her.

Justin plowed the Ford through the snow into the driveway of the cottage behind the B&B.

“Over here!” yelled Carrie above the noise of the fire and sirens. Justin ran through the snow to her. “She’s alive. Meows thinks she hit her head. We need an ambulance.”

Joyce arrived after her two-block sprint, and saw Carrie in the yard behind the B&B while Justin was calling 911 back to request an ambulance. She jogged over.

“Good God!” she exclaimed. “What happened?”

Carrie explained as Joyce knelt next to Suzanna.

Justin put his phone back in his pocket. “Ambulance is on the way. They know where we are.”

“Meows, is Sunshine in the cottage or with a guest?” Joyce asked.

“With a guest.”

“He’ll be okay,” said Carrie. “In an emergency, the staff knows to return him to the cottage.”

“Okay, good. You want me to stay here or go with Suzanna? She’ll need her purse and her ID and all,” said Joyce.

“I’ll go,” said Carrie.

 

[CatPat]

“Where can I find her purse?” Joyce asked Meows.

“On the kitchen table,” Meows replied.

“Okay.”

Joyce headed off to retrieve the purse, and returned a moment later as the ambulance backed into the driveway and Carole Furman came out of the back door of the inn, carrying Sunshine.

“I’ll take Sunshine and Meows to your place until they get this fire knocked down,” said Joyce to Carrie.

“Oh no!” cried Carole as she saw Suzanna. “What happened?”

Joyce explained quickly and took Sunshine. The staff was sending the guests to the Stony River Inn until the fire department got the inferno under control, and the ambulance crew was making their way swiftly across the snow with a stretcher.

The three friends watched as Suzanna was put on the stretcher, and Carrie climbed into the front of the ambulance with the driver. Justin quickly told Carrie to call him when she was ready to be picked up as he could get around well in the snow. The ambulance moved off in the night, its lights flashing red and white.

“Gods,” said Justin. “Maybe I should just go ahead and follow them there for support.”

“You might want to. I’ll take Sunshine and Meows to Carrie’s and call Pook and Saav from there.”

“Okay. Call mine too, if you don’t mind. They’re worried.”

“I will. Same ring code, right?” Joyce asked.

“Yes. I’ll call you at Carrie’s when I have any news,” he said, heading for his Ford.

“Okay, thanks.” Meows hopped to Joyce’s shoulder and with Sunshine still in her arms, she made her way to Carrie’s shop.


About six miles out of the town, Paul stood at his living room window, enjoying the view over the valley and the town. Zeus sat next to him on the back of a chair.

“Boy, nothing’s moving around there, is it,” Zeus commented.

“Nope, nothing. This must have been what whoever wrote ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’ meant by not a creature stirring,” said Paul, taking a sip of his tea.

Zeus nodded, looking at Paul’s cup. “I think so. Hey, do we have any cream left?”

“I think so. Is that a hint?”

“That would be my first guess,” smiled Zeus.

“Come on, let’s go find some.”

 

[CatPat]

The cat followed the human into the big kitchen, and Paul poured some cream into a bowl for Zeus as Zeus hopped up on the table.

“I like that – “ started Zeus, then his ears swiveled. “Did you hear that?”

Paul frowned. “Thunder? This time of year?"

Zeus shook his head. “That’s not thunder. Sounded like a car backfiring real badly.”

“That’s probably what it was,” nodded Paul. He placed the bowl on the table for Zeus, and refilled his teacup. “I gotta get some more of this.”

Zeus looked up. “That’s the herbal tea Carrie gave you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I like it a lot.”

“Smells like boiled lettuce to me,” said Zeus, returning to his cream.

Paul smiled. “Then I bet Belle loves it.”

“Probably,” said Zeus, and finished the cream. He licked his whiskers and followed Paul back out to the living room. “It’s almost time for the TV special.”

“Yep. Belle isn’t thinking about getting a pet panda, is she?”

“Gaaahhhh I hope not. I can’t see Carrie going for that, can you?” asked Zeus, jumping up on the back of the couch behind Paul. He looked out the big window. “That would be – hey, what’s – look!”

“What?” asked Paul, turning to look out the window. An eerie orange glow lit the sky over the town below. He stood up suddenly and went to the window for a closer look. Zeus jumped over to the back of the chair closer to the window. “What the hell? A fire?”

“Looks like it,” said Zeus, alarmed.

Paul lifted Zeus up and held him close to the window. “Can you see any details? Your eyes should be better than mine.”

Zeus peered intently out the window, then fluffed up, hissing. “Call 911. Call Carrie. Call Suzanna. Do something, that’s a fire, and it’s downtown!”

Paul dumped the cat back on the chair and ran for the phone. He first called 911 to report a fire downtown, but the dispatcher assured him the fire department was already on the way. He tried Carrie’s, using the ring code for the cats when at first there was no answer. Bart answered.

“Bart? What’s happening?” asked Paul. “What’s on fire there?”

“There’s a fire at the B&B, I think, or close to it. Carrie’s gone to check on Suzanna,” Bart replied. He sounded terribly upset.

“Are you two okay?” asked Paul. “Is it getting closer to you? Want me to come get you?”

 

[CatPat]

“No, it’s not getting close to us. We will run if it does, we can get out. Wait a minute, someone’s here. Hold on.”

Paul waited, and then heard Joyce talking to the cats. In a moment, she came to the phone.

“Joyce? What’s happening?” asked Paul, worried.

“Hey, Paul, everyone’s safe here, it’s a fire right across from Sunshine Inn. I have Sunshine and Meows here, they’re fine. Suzanna’s been taken to the hospital, she fell in her yard and hurt her head, we think. Justin and Carrie went with her.”

“Do you need me? I can be there in just a few minutes. Are you okay?”

“We’re okay, no guests were hurt. Only Suzanna, and Meows says a few windows were blown out at Sunshine. My bay window cracked. The old warehouse across from the B&B went up like a bomb,” she told him. “I’m staying at Carrie’s with Bart and Belle.”

“Oh, God,” Paul sighed. “Okay. Look, I’m coming anyway, we’ll be there shortly. Are Pook and Saav there too?”

“No, last I saw they flew under the couch at home,” Joyce replied. “It scared them to death.”

“Okay. I can go get them and bring them to you. What about Justin’s cats? He’s farther away from this, though, I guess.”

“He said they were okay, just a little worried. I was getting ready to call them and mine in a minute.”

“How did you get there?” asked Paul.

“I ran my ass off,” said Joyce.

“Okay. I’ll bring Pook and Saav and your dog. If we need, we can check on Justin’s cats since we all have keys to each others’ places. Call me on the cell if you need anything else,” he said, and got off the phone. He looked at Zeus. “They’re okay. Suzanna got hurt. C’mon, Zeus, and for once don’t say a damn word about my driving!”

Zeus nodded and followed Paul as he got his coat, wallet, and keys. He didn’t really feel like giving Paul a hard time right now.



Suzanna came to on the way to the hospital, a little confused as to how she wound up in an ambulance. After a thorough exam, the doctor came out to Carrie and Justin in the waiting area.

 

[CatPat]

“She got herself a pretty hard hit to her head and a concussion,” said the doctor. “But that’s all. She’ll have some bruises from the fall, but she has no other injuries. I want to keep her overnight just for observation to make sure she’s okay, but I think she is. You can come see her if you like, and wait with her while they get her room ready.”

“Oh good,” breathed Carrie, her shoulders sagging in relief.

“Whew, that’s good news,” said Justin as the doctor led them through the double doors to the emergency room.

Suzanna was sitting up, sipping some water from a paper cup when her two friends came in.

“Hey there,” smiled Carrie.

“I’m so glad to see you two,” said Suzanna gratefully. “What happened? Last thing I remember was walking to the cottage from the B&B.”

“There was an explosion across the street, the ice cream place and that old warehouse went up. I think it knocked you over,” Carrie explained, and told her all about Meows finding her and the damage to the B&B.

“Windows I can replace. Would one of you call over there and make sure that’s all the damage?” Suzanna asked. “What about Sunshine and the guests? Did anyone get hurt?”

“I’ll call,” said Justin. “Be right back.”

“Didn’t look like anyone was hurt, Suzanna. Joyce took Meows and Sunshine to my place, farther away from the fire. Your staff got the guests down to Stony River Inn until they can assess the damage and get the fire under control.”

“It must have been a massive explosion. My ears are ringing,” said Suzanna.

“It was. Justin heard it at his place, and it cracked Joyce’s bay window and blew a bunch of yours out, according to Meows.”

“Geez,” said Suzanna, shaking her head. “They want to keep me here overnight. I really need to be there.”

“We’ll be there, and your staff is good. They know what they’re doing and you just worry about getting your rest. You can be there tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Carrie. How’s Meows?”

“Shaken, but holding his own. He’s a good guy, Suzanna, he’ll be fine once he hears you’re okay.”

“Poor Meows. He’s such a worrier. Wow, do I have a headache,” sighed Suzanna, finishing the cup of water.

“Want some more of that?” asked Carrie.

 

[CatPat]

“Yes, please,” she said, giving the cup to her friend.

Carrie found a water fountain in the hall, and as she stood filling the cup, Justin returned. Carrie looked up at him hopefully.

“Six windows broken, people are a little freaked out, but they’re safe at Stony River Inn and no one’s hurt. The staff is boarding up the broken windows but the fire department won’t let the guests return because they don’t know what was stored in the warehouse and if anything is toxic. Stony River Inn is letting them stay there for free, they have plenty of rooms available,” he said.

“Good. She’ll be glad to hear that,” said Carrie, and they went back to Suzanna to give her the news.

Suzanna listened intently, then sighed. “Okay, then everyone’s all right and Sunshine and Meows are safe. My God, this could have been so much worse.”

“Don’t think about that. It didn’t happen, and your staff did an excellent job,” said Carrie.

“I knew they would in an emergency. The fire department always monitored our emergency drills and the guests never complained about them,” Suzanna said with a smile, then winced. “Damn, my head hurts.”

“I bet it does,” Carrie said sympathetically, as a nurse entered.

“Ms. Pearson?” she asked Suzanna, who nodded. “Your room is ready now. You folks can come up and see her in just a few minutes after we get her settled in.”

“Thank you,” said Carrie. “Oh, wait. Suzanna, we can get some things you’ll need for the night.”

“Oh, would you? Thanks so much,” said Suzanna, and told them what she needed. It wasn’t much; but she wanted her own nightshirt and a few personal things.

Carrie squeezed her hand and Justin patted her shoulder. “We’ll be right back. What’s her room number?”

“Two-fifteen. Second floor, turn right off the elevator,” replied the nurse.

“Thanks,” said Carrie. “See you soon.”

Joyce called Pook and Saav, who were still unnerved, and they were glad to know Paul was coming to get them and Ruffie. TigTig and Loki were all right and preferred to wait for Justin at home. Paul brought Pook, Saav and Ruffie shortly before Carrie called with news of Suzanna, and the cats, Paul, and Joyce breathed a sigh of relief. Shortly after that, Suzanna herself called all of them, and the little group of friends in Carrie’s apartment settled in to watch the progress of the fire department.

 

[CatPat]

“I wonder what might have been in there?” Saav mused.

“Whatever it was, it was volatile,” said Meows.

“Yeah, that explosion shook the whole area,” Joyce said.

“Zeus and I heard something that sounded like a car backfiring or something, even that far out,” added Paul.

“Hope it’s not poisonous,” frowned Pook.

“Wonder how many other people lost some windows,” said Bart.

“Probably several shops did. Joyce, your bay window isn’t too bad,” Paul said.

“I didn’t think so,” said Joyce.

“I’m surprised we didn’t lose any,” Bart put in.

Joyce nodded. “So am I.”

“Rats,” said Belle suddenly. Everyone looked at her.

“What, Belle?” asked Meows.

“I missed my TV program.”

Carrie arrived home just before midnight, and was surprised to see the warehouse still burning. The brick walls had all collapsed from the explosion and heat, but the flames still lit up the whole block. As Justin drove down the main street, Carrie could see that the front porch of the B&B was scorched, and there were sheets of plywood over four windows.

“God, look at the porch,” said Carrie, shocked.

Justin peered across her. “That’s not bad. Probably from the explosion. A good sanding and a couple coats of paint is all it will take to make it look new again.”

“Poor Suzanna,” she replied. “First the front parlor, then that horrible woman kicking Sunshine, now this.”

Justin was silent, remembering Suzanna’s past near-disasters with the B&B. The front parlor had been completely trashed by a jealous husband beating up his wife’s boyfriend shortly after Sunshine Inn opened, and all the townspeople and shopowners had come to her rescue, restoring the parlor to its former beauty by the end of the day. Then a woman with a dog had come in demanding a room a few months later, and the dog had gone berserk when Sunshine the inn kitty walked into the foyer. She had kicked Sunshine viciously, injuring the cat, and now still sat in jail. He sighed and drove slowly to the apartment above the shop.

“Oh, look,” Carrie said, pointing. She had two large windows on either side of the shop’s front door, and both of them were badly cracked.

 

[CatPat]

“I’ll tape those up for you tonight,” Justin offered. “Paul and I could probably replace those with no problem tomorrow.”

“If we can find panes of glass that size tomorrow,” Carrie said ruefully, unlocking the door. “I bet half the town will be lined up at the hardware store for window panes.”

“That’s a possibility.”

They went up the steps, and Paul opened the door when he heard them coming up.

“I’m so glad to see you safe,” said Paul, hugging Carrie and shaking Justin’s hand.

“We’re just fine. Suzanna’s coming home tomorrow morning and she’s going to be just fine too,” replied Carrie, hugging Joyce and picking up the purring kitten. She gazed at all the cats and the non-sentient dog, and smiled. “It’s good to see you guys.”

Meows smiled. “Thank you both for taking care of Suzanna. I was quite worried,” he said.

Ruffie greeted her with her usual enthusiasm, and Carrie knelt to receive Ruffie’s slobber-kisses on her face.

“We were too,” said Zeus.

“Got any duct tape?” asked Justin.

“Yes. There’s a box of fix-it stuff under the counter next to the first aid kit in the shop,” said Carrie.

“What’s that for?” asked Belle.

“My shop windows are cracked pretty badly and Justin is going to tape them up until I can get them replaced,” explained Carrie.

“Gaaaahhhh, we never thought to check the shop,” said Bart disgustedly.

“I didn’t either,” Paul said. “I came in through the back, in the alley. Justin, I’ll come help you.”

“Thanks,” replied Justin, and the two men went out the door.

“What does the B&B look like?” asked Meows. “Is it all right?”

Carrie shrugged and described the damage. “It doesn’t look so pretty in the front right now, but with fresh paint and new windows it will look like Sunshine Inn again.”

Meows nodded. “Suzanna will hate to see that, though.”

“Rather that than a pile of smoldering rubble,” said Saav with a shiver.

“True, Saav. This could have been much worse,” he agreed.

“Geez, Meows, Suzanna said the same thing tonight. Don’t even think about it,” said Carrie, scratching the grey tabby’s chin.

Pook frowned. “Yeah, that’s a terrible thought. We can do without that.”